In a nutshellThe finest cricketer New Zealand has produced, Richard Hadlee was a bowler of devastating control and intelligence: the first to 400 Test wickets; and one of the four great allrounders of the 1980s. More

Few players in the history of cricket have carried the fortunes of their team to quite the same extent as Richard Hadlee. By the time he retired from international cricket in 1990, at the age of 39 and with a knighthood newly conferred upon him for his services to the game, Hadlee had cemented his place as one of the great fast bowlers of all time, and lifted New Zealand to unprecedented feats in the Test arena.

As the first player to reach 400 Test wickets, Hadlee was always assured of immortality, but in addition to his matchless skills with the ball, he was also a hard-hitting batsman of unquestioned skill, and he is acknowledged as one of the four great allrounders of the 1980s, along with Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Kapil Dev.

One of five sons of Walter Hadlee, the former New Zealand captain, his cricket education began at an early age, and in 1971-72 he debuted for Canterbury, forming a penetrative new-ball partnership with his elder brother Dayle. In those days, however, Hadlee was a tearaway, placing speed far ahead of guile, an attitude that was matched by his unkempt, long-haired appearance. As his knowhow grew, however, so his run-up (and locks) shortened, and all the attributes of the model fast bowler fell into place. His lithe, whippy, side-on action made life uncomfortable for all the great batsmen of his era, as he extracted pace, bounce and movement from even the least responsive of surfaces.

His first great demolition job came in Wellington in February 1978 - five years on from his debut - when his 10 wickets, including 6 for 26 in the second innings, condemned England to a first defeat against the Kiwis. However, it was for the Australians that he preserved his finest efforts, and his 15-wicket haul in Brisbane in 1985-86 remains one of the most talked-of moments in Trans-Tasman rivalry. He needed just 79 matches to reach 400 wickets - a phenomenal strike-rate - and he was still very much at the top of his game when, in 1990, he bowed out against England at his adopted home of Trent Bridge - his second-innings haul of 5 for 53 included a wicket with his very last delivery.

After retirement he went on to to become an outspoken media pundit, and later the chairman of New Zealand's selectors. Andrew Miller

For a team starved of match-winning fast bowlers, Hadlee was a godsend

Timeline

January 3, 1972 c B Hadlee b R Hadlee

Joins brother Barry in the Canterbury side. Takes 3 for 57 and 1 for 26 on his first-class debut, after being hit for a four first ball. The second of those wickets comes through a catch by Barry.

January 16, 1972 Third match, three in three

In his third week as a first-class cricketer, he removes Ken Wadsworth (lbw), Blair Furlong (bowled) and John Howell (bowled) of Central Districts to complete his first first-class hat-trick and hasten a nine-wicket win for Canterbury.

February 2, 1973 Richard Hadlee to Sadiq Mohammad, four runs

His first delivery on Test debut is hit for four too. He takes 2 for 84 and 0 for 28 in a weather-affected draw. Shows all-round capabilities by smashing 46 runs in 49 minutes. For the next two Tests he gives way to brother Dayle and so sets the pattern of his Test career for the next three years: sometimes in, as often out.

Hadlee is not expecting to play when he is included in the XII for the third Test against the visiting Indians in 1976. On the morning of the Test, though, New Zealand exclude the spinner Hedley Howarth, and Hadlee, coming on initially as fourth seamer, finishes with a match return of 11 for 58, Test record figures by a New Zealander.

February 10-14, 1978 First win over Blighty

Takes 6 for 26 in a lethal 13.3-over spell, to go with 4 for 74 in the first innings, as England fail to get even half of the 137-run target in Wellington. It is New Zealand's first Test win over England.

Winter of 1978 Sales manager no more

Has to give up his day job in Christchurch when he travels to England for a double-wicket tournament. It is while in England that he is approached by Nottinghamshire to replace Clive Rice, who has been sacked for his involvement with World Series Cricket. Nottinghamshire reconsider: Rice returns, Hadlee remains.

Another double-figure haul, 11 for 102, is responsible for a dramatic win over West Indies, as well as making him New Zealand's leading wicket-taker. In addition, he becomes the first New Zealander to 100 wickets and 1000 runs in Tests.

February 26, 1980 Hadlee the batsman

In the second Test of the series, he scores his maiden century, setting up a draw and also a 1-0 series win over West Indies. It is the start of a 12-year unbeaten home-series record for New Zealand.

1980 London calling

For his services to cricket, he is awarded the MBE in the 1980 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Operating off a shorter run - 15 paces as against 23 - he is the only bowler to cross 100 first-class wickets in English season of 1981. His all-round contribution of 105 wickets at 14.89 and 745 runs at 32.39 takes Nottinghamshire to their first title since 1929. Wisden names him a Cricketer of the Year.

August 28, 1983 200 wickets

With the wicket of Norman Cowans at Trent Bridge, Hadlee becomes the 19th man to take 200 Test wickets. Of the 18 ahead of him, only Garry Sobers, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Richie Benaud, and Imran Khan have more runs than Hadlee's 1601.

1983 Stress takes its toll

Experiences mental-health problems due to the stress of international cricket and public-speaking engagements. Takes a holiday to Rarotonga, where he runs into Dennis Lillee, and the two share their feelings about the pressure of cricket. Comes back to do well in the England series, scoring 144 runs in four innings and taking 21 wickets.

Takes 33 wickets at 12.15 in three Tests in Australia, the third-best figures ever in a three-match series, including another 11-wicket match haul and his personal best innings haul of 9 for 52, setting up New Zealand's first series win on Australian soil.

February 21, 1986 Triple threat

When he gets Allan Border lbw in Wellington, he becomes only the sixth man to 300 Test wickets. He has already overtaken his two allrounder rivals in terms of wickets, Kapil Dev (281) and Imran Khan (254), and is behind only Ian Botham (345). New Zealand go on to win the series 1-0.

1987-88 Season of torment

Takes a ten-for in Melbourne to nearly fashion an unlikely Test win, but Mike Whitney, the Aussie No. 11, negotiates the last over to secure a draw. Had Hadlee broken through then, it would have taken him one ahead of Ian Botham's world record of 373 wickets. The record doesn't come in the next Test either, as he breaks down on the first morning and is ruled out for the whole series. At an awards dinner at the end of the season, Richie Benaud, seeing Hadlee hobble up to the stage, thinks he "would never play cricket again".

Reconsiders his decision of not touring India after his stomach troubles on the 1976 tour. On the first morning of the Bangalore Test, he overtakes Ian Botham's record of 373 wickets with Arun Lal's wicket, getting there in 19 Tests fewer than the incumbent. His match-winning ten-wicket haul in Bombay dispenses doubts about his fitness, but New Zealand lose the series 1-2.

February-March, 1990 More records

Gets to 400 wickets with the dismissal of Sanjay Manjrekar in Christchurch, followed by his 100th first-class five-for, against Australia in Wellington. Follows it up with the announcement that he will retire after the England tour.

June 16, 1990 Arise Sir Richard

It is announced that he is to be knighted for his services to cricket, although the honour is actually conferred in October later in the year.

Hadlee hadn't cemented his place in the side when unexpectedly he was included in the XII for this Test. On the morning of the Test, New Zealand excluded the spinner, Hedley Howarth, and their fourth seamer vindicated the move. In 15 quick, well-directed balls on the first morning, Hadlee removed Sunil Gavaskar, Dileep Vengsarkar and Surinder Amarnath to reduce India to 47 for 3. In the second innings, he exposed India some more. He worked up lively pace, and bowled with sustained accuracy, taking five wickets for 10 runs in a 28-ball spell to bowl India out for 81 and set the record for the best match haul by a New Zealander.

4 for 74 and 6 for 26 v England, Wellington, 1977-78

En route to his 100th Test wicket, Hadlee set up New Zealand's first Test win over England in their 48th attempt. After his 4 for 74 secured New Zealand a 13-run lead despite Geoff Boycott's fighting 77 in difficult conditions, New Zealand had conceded the advantage by folding to Bob Willis' five-for. A familiar story of gloom was on the cards when they came out to defend 136, but Hadlee bowled with hostility, skill, and speed on a pitch of uneven bounce, sending down 13.3 unchanged overs for figures of 6 for 26. Richard Collinge did his bit from the other end, and England were bowled out for 64.

5 for 34 and 6 for 68; 51 v West Indies, Dunedin, 1979-80

The controversy surrounding this match meant that Michael Holding's kicking the stumps was remembered more than Richard Hadlee's becoming only the third New Zealander to take two five-fors and score a fifty in the same match and also his reaching the New Zealand record of 117 wickets. On a seaming pitch that stayed low, he trapped Lawrence Rowe, Alvin Kalicharran and Clive Lloyd lbw on the first morning. He enjoyed a life during his 51 when umpire Fred Goodall ruled him not out when he had edged one. His 6 for 68 in the second innings gave New Zealand 104 to chase, which they did with more than a huff and a puff. His seven lbws, a record, pointed to his accuracy, and also contributed to some of West Indies' frustrations with the umpiring.

Hadlee's 50th Test marked a fine achievement, his 17th and 18th five-fors, helping New Zealand seal the series in hot and humid Sri Lanka. His first spell of three wickets on the first morning reduced Sri Lanka to 32 for 4, and another brace later kept them to just 256. Playing for a draw, Sri Lanka were 69 for 3 at the close of the fourth day, but had no response for Hadlee's venom on the fifth day. His second-innings figures read 16-7-29-5.

9 for 52 and 6 for 71; 54 v Australia, 1985-86

Hadlee's match if ever there was one. Hadlee's 15 overs on the first day brought him 4 for 35, and early on the second, demolished Australia with one of the outstanding pieces of contemporary Test bowling. When he took a well-judged catch of Vaughan Brown, the ninth wicket of the innings, he denied himself a chance of taking all 10, but his 23.4-4-52-9 destroyed Australia. He then scored a 45-ball 54, assisting Martin Crowe's 188, to bat Australia out. Hadlee's control and movement off the pitch proved too much from the resistance from Allan Border and Greg Mathews, his 15 for 123 being the best match figures by a New Zealander.

5 for 65 and 6 for 90 v Australia, Perth, 1985-86

Two matches later, Hadlee produced another single-handed match-winning effort, in Perth, to finish with 33 wickets for the series. Ewen Chatfield started the damage this time, but with an injury ruling him out on the first day, Hadlee came up with another five-for to hurt Australia. In the second innings, David Boon and Allan Border resisted with all their determination, but Hadlee removed them among four others, giving New Zealand only 164 to chase.

Hadlee reacted to the challenge of facing England at his adopted home ground in his customarily combative manner. Hadlee found movement denied to everyone else and took 6 for 80 in the first innings; en route he rose to third in the list of all-time Test wicket-takers, ahead of Bob Willis, behind Dennis Lillee and Ian Botham. He then played an important role in New Zealand's first-innings batting recovery, which in the end marked the difference between the teams.

5 for 109 and 5 for 67 v Australia, Melbourne, 1987-88

Once again Hadlee showed how much he loved performing against Australia. After a controversy-filled New Zealand innings of 317, Hadlee's skill and persistence kept Australia's lead down to just 40. Australia allowed themselves 92 overs to score 247 for victory, and at 176 for 4, were on course with 28 overs left. At 5.17pm, with the score 199 for 5, Hadlee was brought back. Until the finish at 6.49pm, he gave his all for his country as 23,859 spectators watched in suspense. Four wickets fell for 18 runs, taking Hadlee's 10-fors to eight, a new record. With just one more wicket to pass Ian Botham's 373 wickets in Tests and one more to secure the win, an exhausted Hadlee couldn't produce that final blow in the final over.

6 for 49 and 4 for 39 v India, Bombay, 1988-89

This 10-for set up a rare win in India. John Bracewell and Danny Morrison's dogged resistance took New Zealand to 236, but it seemed an inadequate total until Hadlee struck. Kris Srikkanth and Dilip Vengsarkar were on their way to a big lead when a careless stroke from Vengsarkar gave New Zealand a look. Hadlee, who had had only one wicket in his first 13 overs, returned to take Srikkanth with a splendidly concealed legcutter. Hadlee once again began to dictate terms; none of the remaining batsmen could keep him out and New Zealand took a two-run lead. Defending 281, Hadlee provided the killer blow in the second innings, Srikkanth's wicket with the first ball of the innings. John Bracewell did the rest.